Air Conditioning Basics: The Refrigeration Cycle

A beginner's guide to the refrigeration cycle, air conditioning and refrigeration.

What you'll learn

Define the four components of the refrigeration cycle and the piping that connect these components.

Understand refrigerant pressure and temperature relationship.

Understand terms such as superheat, subcooling and saturation temperature.

Understand the effects that outdoor temperature, indoor heat load and refrigerant charge have on system operation.

Demonstrate how to connect analog and digital pressure and temperature probes to accurately measure pressures and temperatures in the refrigeration cycle.

Think in terms of temperatures rather than pressures in the refrigeration cycle.

Requirements

Little to no field or class experience required. This is a basic course that starts at the very beginning.

Description

A Beginner's GuideThis course is designed as an introduction to the refrigeration cycle, which is the basis for air conditioning and refrigeration.  It covers the (4) main components of the refrigeration cycle and their purpose.  It explains how the refrigeration cycle absorbs and rejects heat, how it makes cold air to cool a space and what pressures and temperatures are required to accomplish this.Who Can Benefit From This Course?Beginners without any HVAC experience will greatly benefit from this course.  It starts with a basic analogy to help the student learn what the refrigeration cycle is and what its main components do.  It then goes into pressure and temperature relationships.  Towards the end of the course, basic troubleshooting is considered.HVAC apprentices will also benefit from this course as this knowledge will compliment what they are already learning.  It also helps the student to learn the proper way to check, diagnose and think about the the refrigeration cycle so bad habits are not learned.Experienced HVAC professionals can also benefit from this course to fill in gaps in knowledge and help them unlearn some bad habits and thinking processes that may impede progress.  While this course does not include advanced diagnosis, it gives you a solid foundation to build your skills with accurate knowledge.Lectures and Video DemonstrationThe course includes a lecture with slides and visual aids that keep the student engaged.  It also includes videos taken in the field to demonstrate how to take air temperature, refrigerant pressure and temperature readings and how to calculate superheat and subcooling.Repetition For EmphasisThe course is design in a way that starts the student off with superficial knowledge.  Each course repeats the refrigeration cycle, adding more understanding to details.  This repetition sounds down the knowledge into the student.Quiz After Every LessonEvery lesson has a quiz including where the answer can be found in the course so the student can gauge his/ her own understanding before advancing to the next lesson.Course HandoutsIncluded in this course are: R410A Pressure/ Temperature ChartRefrigeration Cycle Principles which summarize the course content into a single quick- guide that the student can use in the field.Final ExamThe final exam questions are worded to reveal the depth of understanding the student as after taking the course.  A 70% or more grade allows the student to pass the class.  Answers to the exam can be found in or outside course content provided, similar to an HVAC professional seeking an answer in the field from any reliable source available to him/ her.

Overview

Section 1: Introduction

Lecture 1 Lesson 1: Air Conditioning and the Four Components of the Refrigeration Cycle

Section 2: Lesson 2: Temperature, heat absorption and rejection, sensible and latent heat

Lecture 2 Lesson 2: Temperature, heat absorption and rejection, sensible and latent heat

Section 3: Lesson 3: Pressure and Temperature Relationships Part 1: Refrigerant Saturation

Lecture 3 Lesson 3: Pressure and Temperature Relationships Part 1: Refrigerant Saturation

Section 4: Lesson 4: Pressure and Temperature Relationships Part 2 with Refrigerant Piping

Lecture 4 Lesson 4: Pressure and Temperature Relationships Part 2 with Refrigerant Piping

Section 5: Lesson 5: Refrigerant Pressure and Conversion to Saturation Temperature

Lecture 5 Lesson 5: Refrigerant Pressure and Conversion to Saturation Temperature

Section 6: Lesson 6: Superheat

Lecture 6 Lesson 6: Superheat

Section 7: Section 7: Metering Devices

Lecture 7 Lection 7: Types of Metering Devices

Section 8: Lesson 8: Subcooling

Lecture 8 Lesson 8: Subcooling

Section 9: Lesson 9: The Complete Refrigeration Cycle

Lecture 9 Lesson 9: The Complete Refrigeration Cycle

Section 10: Lesson 10: The Effects of Outdoor Temperature

Lecture 10 Lesson 10: The Effect of Outdoor Temperature

Section 11: Lesson 11: The Effect of Indoor Heat Load

Lecture 11 Lesson 11: The Effects of Indoor Heat Load

Section 12: Lesson 12: Refrigerant Charge

Lecture 12 Lesson 12: Refrigerant Charge

Section 13: Course Review

Lecture 13 Course Review and Final Thoughts

Section 14: Final Exam

HVAC apprentices, installers, technicians, instructors, contractors and business owners who want to understand the fundamentals of the refrigeration cycle the correct way.